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Hakuba Onsen Guide: Day Baths You Can Reach Without a Car

Fees, hours, seasons and the walk from the nearest bus or gondola for Hakuba's day-use baths, from the operators' and Hakuba Village's pages checked on October 22, 2026.

Researched & written byRural Japan GuidesHow I researchSources8 sourceslisted at the endLast checkedDetails can change — check the official site before you travel.Read6 min
The open-air bath at Obinata-no-Yu, a pool of clear water edged with rocks, with a wooden fence and trees behind

Obinata-no-Yu, one of the four Happo baths, opens in summer only. Photo: Soica2001 / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

The short answer
  • Without a car, the easiest baths are Happo-no-Yu (¥1,000, a 10-minute walk from the Happo-one gondola), Mimizuku-no-Yu (¥800, a 10-minute walk from Hakuba Station) and Iwatake-no-Yu (¥750, about 200 m from the Iwatake gondola).
  • Tattoos: the Happo operator says people with tattoos are welcome at its four baths. Hakuba's tourism site says most baths in the village accept them, with exceptions such as Juro-no-Yu in Goryu (not in this guide).
  • A ¥1,200 shared bath ticket covers ¥1,500 of bath fees at 11 baths, except on May 3–5, August 13–15 and December 31 – January 3.
My pick

Go to Happo-no-Yu after skiing Happo-one.

It is open every day of the year from 10:00 to 21:00, and a 10-minute walk from the Happo-one gondola.

Choose Mimizuku-no-Yu if you are staying near Hakuba Station, and Iwatake-no-Yu if you ski Iwatake.

  1. 1Happo-no-Yu¥1,000; 10:00–21:00 all year
  2. 2Mimizuku-no-Yu¥800; 10 min on foot from Hakuba Station
  3. 3Iwatake-no-Yu¥750; 13:00–21:00 in season

Hakuba has many day-use hot spring baths, but the operators give walking directions for only some of them. This guide sorts them by how you get there without a car, then covers fees, seasons, tattoos and the shared bath ticket. For the rest of a winter trip, see my guide to the Japanese Alps in winter without a car.

Fees, hours and rules below come from the operators' own pages and Hakuba Village's tourism site, checked on October 22, 2026. Fees are adult fees, tax included where the page says so. This page compares the facts on those pages; it is not a review of the baths.

Hakuba onsen compared

Bath Area Adult Hours Open Without a car
Happo-no-Yu Happo ¥1,000 10:00–21:00 All year 10 min walk from the gondola
Mimizuku-no-Yu Near Hakuba Station ¥800 10:00–21:00 All year 10 min walk from Hakuba Station
Sato-no-Yu Happo ¥800 16:00–20:00 Winter Between the Happo bus stop and the gondola
Iwatake-no-Yu Iwatake ¥750 13:00–21:00 Apr 23 – Nov 15; mid-Dec – late Mar (planned) About 200 m from the gondola base
Kurashita-no-Yu Shionomichi Onsen area ¥800 10:00–20:00 All year Directions by car only
Obinata-no-Yu Happo ¥800 12:00–18:00 Summer 10 min by car from Hakuba Station
Ryujin-no-Yu Goryu ¥900 11:00–17:00 Jun 20 – Oct 18 At the Goryu base (Escal Plaza)
Tenjin-no-Yu Hakuba Highland Hotel ¥1,000 11:00–18:00 — —
Kominka-no-Yu — ¥1,500 13:00–17:00 Irregular —

Last entry is 30 minutes before closing at most baths (an hour at Tenjin-no-Yu and Kominka-no-Yu). "—" means I have not found it on an official page. Seasons are explained bath by bath below.

Baths you can walk to

Happo-no-Yu

One of the four Happo baths run by Happo-one Kaihatsu.

  • Fee: adults (junior high school age and up) ¥1,000, elementary school children ¥600, children aged 3 until they start elementary school ¥400.
  • Hours: 10:00–21:00, last entry 20:30, open every day of the year.
  • Getting there: a 10-minute walk from the Happo-one gondola station, or 5 minutes by car from Hakuba Station.
  • Paying: credit card, barcode or QR code as well as cash.

Mimizuku-no-Yu

The Happo bath you can walk to from Hakuba Station.

  • Fee: adults ¥800, children ¥500, small children ¥300 (the same age bands as Happo-no-Yu).
  • Hours: 10:00–21:00, last entry 20:30, open every day of the year.
  • Getting there: a 10-minute walk from Hakuba Station, so you can go straight from a JR train.
  • Paying: card, barcode or QR code as well as cash.

Sato-no-Yu

A Happo bath that opens in winter only.

  • Fee: adults ¥800, children ¥500, small children ¥300 (the same age bands as Happo-no-Yu). Cash only.
  • Hours: 16:00–20:00, last entry 19:30.
  • Season: October 27, 2025 – March 31, 2026 last winter. Dates for 2026–27 had not been posted when I checked on October 22, 2026.
  • Getting there: on the way from the Happo bus stop to the gondola, and a 5-minute walk from the Nakiyama slope of Happo-one. For the buses to Happo, see my guide to Hakuba without a car.

Iwatake-no-Yu

At Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort, with an indoor bath for men and for women and a kuromoji-wood sauna.

  • Fee: adults ¥750, children from 3 to under 12 ¥400.
  • Hours: 13:00–21:00, last entry 20:30.
  • Season: April 23 – November 15, 2026, then from mid-December 2026 to late March 2027 (planned). The page gives no dates between the two.
  • Getting there: about 200 m from the gondola base station. More on reaching Iwatake by bus is in my guide to where to stay in Hakuba.

Baths further out

Kurashita-no-Yu

A bath of Hakuba Shionomichi Onsen, with brown, cloudy water (sodium chloride and bicarbonate).

  • Fee: adults (junior high school age and up) ¥800, elementary school age and under ¥400, under 3 free.
  • Hours: 10:00–20:00, last entry 19:30, and until 20:30 on days before a holiday. Open every day except for pump repairs.
  • Notices: the top page also lists a closure from November 9 to 27 to prepare for winter, and shorter hours from September 24, without saying which year. Check it before you go.
  • Towels: face towels are sold for ¥300, but bath towels are not rented or sold, so bring one.
  • Getting there: the access page gives directions by car only.

Obinata-no-Yu

A Happo bath that opens in summer only.

  • Fee: adults ¥800, children ¥500, small children ¥300 (the same age bands as Happo-no-Yu). Cash only.
  • Season: April 25 – October 31, 2026, 12:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30). The operator calls it a summer bath.
  • Getting there: 10 minutes by car from Hakuba Station.

Ryujin-no-Yu, Tenjin-no-Yu and Kominka-no-Yu

  • Ryujin-no-Yu: at Escal Plaza, the base of ABLE Hakuba Goryu. Adults ¥900, children ¥450, 11:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The village list gives its open period as June 20 – October 18, 2026 and says nothing about winter.
  • Tenjin-no-Yu: the day bath at Hakuba Highland Hotel. Junior high school age and up ¥1,000, ages 3 to elementary school ¥500, 11:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00).
  • Kominka-no-Yu: adults ¥1,500, children ¥1,000, with higher prices at busy times, 13:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00), closed on irregular days.

Tattoos, private baths and the rules

TattoosWelcome at the four Happo baths

Happo-one Kaihatsu, which runs Happo-no-Yu, Mimizuku-no-Yu, Obinata-no-Yu and Sato-no-Yu, says people with tattoos are welcome. Hakuba's tourism site says most baths in the village accept tattoos, with exceptions such as Juro-no-Yu in Goryu (not in this guide).

The Iwatake, Kurashita and Goryu pages say nothing about tattoos, so ask at the front desk before you pay.

  • Private baths: the Happo operator has none. It plans a private open-air bath at Obinata-no-Yu in winter but had not posted a price or dates.
  • No swimsuits: you bathe without a swimsuit or underwear, and wash before you get in the tub.
  • Children: at the Happo baths, mixed bathing is limited to children aged 6 and under. Baby baths and baby chairs are at Happo-no-Yu and Mimizuku-no-Yu.
  • Inside: no food or drink brought in, and no sauna at the Happo baths.
  • Soap: body soap, shampoo and a hair dryer are free at all four Happo baths.

The shared bath ticket

Hakuba Village sells a shared bath ticket for ¥1,200 that you spend as ¥1,500 of bath fees. Buy it at the roadside station and tourist information centers in the village, among other places.

  • Where it works: Happo-no-Yu, Mimizuku-no-Yu, Obinata-no-Yu, Sato-no-Yu, Kurashita-no-Yu, Tenjin-no-Yu, Ryujin-no-Yu, Iwatake-no-Yu, Hakuba Katakuri Onsen, Hakuba Mizubasho Onsen and Kominka-no-Yu.
  • When it does not: May 3–5, August 13–15 and December 31 – January 3.
  • Limits: you cannot combine it with other discount tickets.

Fitting a bath into a ski day

Some baths open only in the afternoon (Iwatake-no-Yu at 13:00, Sato-no-Yu at 16:00), so a bath fits most easily after the lifts close. Three things to plan around:

  1. Last entry: 30 minutes before closing at the Happo baths, Kurashita-no-Yu and Iwatake-no-Yu.
  2. Getting back: the walk is short at Happo, Hakuba Station and Iwatake, but the baths further out need a taxi or a ride from your lodging. More on buses and taxis is in my guide to getting around Hakuba without a car.
  3. Winter dates: Sato-no-Yu and the winter season at Iwatake-no-Yu had no fixed 2026–27 dates when I checked on October 22, 2026.

How I checked this

  1. I read the fees, hours and seasons on each operator's page and on Hakuba Village Tourism Bureau's onsen list.
  2. Where the village list and an operator's page differed, I used the operator's page. The village list gives ¥650 for a child at Happo-no-Yu; the operator's page gives ¥600.
  3. I took walking times from each operator's access page and did not measure them. Sources: Hakuba Happo Onsen; Kurashita-no-Yu; Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort; Hakuba Village Tourism Bureau
What I could not confirm yet
  • Towel prices at the Happo baths: the operator's Japanese and English pages give different prices.
  • Tattoo rules at Iwatake-no-Yu, Kurashita-no-Yu, Ryujin-no-Yu, Tenjin-no-Yu and Kominka-no-Yu.
  • Ryujin-no-Yu's winter hours and Juro-no-Yu's fees and hours.
  • The 2026–27 winter dates for Sato-no-Yu and Iwatake-no-Yu.
  • Baths at Tsugaike and Norikura.

I will update this page when the winter dates are posted.

Frequently asked questions

Which Hakuba onsen can I reach without a car?

Happo-no-Yu is a 10-minute walk from the Happo-one gondola, Mimizuku-no-Yu is a 10-minute walk from Hakuba Station, Sato-no-Yu is on the way from the Happo bus stop to the gondola, and Iwatake-no-Yu is about 200 m from the Iwatake gondola base station. Kurashita-no-Yu and Obinata-no-Yu only give directions by car.

Are Hakuba onsen tattoo friendly?

At the four Happo baths, yes. Happo-one Kaihatsu, which runs Happo-no-Yu, Mimizuku-no-Yu, Obinata-no-Yu and Sato-no-Yu, says people with tattoos are welcome. Hakuba Village's tourism site says most baths in Hakuba accept tattoos, with exceptions such as Juro-no-Yu in Goryu, which is not in this guide. For the other baths, ask at the front desk.

Is there a private onsen in Hakuba?

Not at the Happo baths: their operator says it has no private baths, though it plans a private open-air bath at Obinata-no-Yu in winter. It had not posted a price or dates when I checked on October 22, 2026.

How much is an onsen in Hakuba?

For an adult, ¥1,000 at Happo-no-Yu, ¥800 at Mimizuku-no-Yu, Sato-no-Yu and Kurashita-no-Yu, ¥750 at Iwatake-no-Yu and ¥1,500 at Kominka-no-Yu. Hakuba's ¥1,200 shared bath ticket covers ¥1,500 of fees.

Can I pay by card?

At Happo-no-Yu and Mimizuku-no-Yu you can pay by credit card, barcode or QR code. Obinata-no-Yu and Sato-no-Yu take cash only.

Keep planning

Hakuba without a carHakuba without a car: trains and the Nagano bus, winter reservations, shuttles and taxis, where to stay, snow and seasons, from official pages.Where to stay in HakubaHakuba's areas compared for a car-free stay: Happo, Hakuba Station, Goryu, Iwatake, Tsugaike and Norikura, by bus stop, bus fare and ski shuttle line.Hakuba to TokyoGetting from Hakuba back to Tokyo without a car: the bus to Nagano and the Shinkansen, or the one Azusa to Shinjuku, with November 2026 times and connections.

Sources

  1. Day-use hot spring baths (fees and hours) — Hakuba Happo Onsen (Happo-one Kaihatsu)
  2. Access to each bath — Hakuba Happo Onsen (Happo-one Kaihatsu)
  3. Inquiries and FAQ (English) — Hakuba Happo Onsen (Happo-one Kaihatsu)
  4. Kurashita-no-Yu hours and fees — Kurashita-no-Yu
  5. Kurashita-no-Yu notices — Kurashita-no-Yu
  6. Iwatake-no-Yu — Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort
  7. Hot springs in Hakuba and the shared bath ticket — Hakuba Village Tourism Bureau
  8. 11 common Hakuba travel mistakes (onsen etiquette) — Hakuba Village Tourism Bureau

Researched and checked by Rio, based in Japan. I read Japanese timetables, operator PDFs and prefecture notices, cross-check them and date every fact. Published . Updated . How I research →